Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, typically include a camera module that utilizes an image sensor to capture images. Conventional camera modules may include various combinations of magnets or motors to physically move the position of a lens, thereby adjusting the object focal distance of the lens to allow objects at different distances to be in sharp focus at the image plane of an image sensor. Consequently, conventional camera modules may be susceptible to mechanical failures and/or may require a large amount of physical space.
Demands on improvements to performance of such cameras are constant, as are demands for continued miniaturization, given the added features and applications added to such mobile devices. For example, miniaturized cameras in mobile devices do not typically have enough physical space available for bulky optical components. Furthermore, as the size of mobile devices shrinks, the space available for camera components also decreases.
Moreover, the complexity of the manufacturing process for camera modules also increases as the physical footprint of the camera module decreases. Camera modules that include a large number of separate components (e.g., a large bill of materials) are expensive and difficult to manufacture because each of the numerous components in the bill of materials must be tracked, carried in inventory, and assembled during an assembly process with a large number of steps. As the complexity of the camera module assembly process rises, so too does the risk of errors during assembly. For example, parts can get lost, run out of stock, and/or inadvertently be pieced together incorrectly.